Prince's Lair
The Prince's Lair is a room hidden within the Slytherin Common Room from which the Prince of Slytherin resides and rules from. Appearance The Prince's Lair is a very sleek room compared to the rest of Hogwarts Castle. It is estimated to be about twenty yards long, twice as wide with a twenty foot high ceiling, making it roughly as large as a classroom. The walls within the Lair are covered in oak-panelling and floors are made of polished marble, with elegant rug covering sections of it. Lighting for the room comes from the multiple glass chandeliers, each with dozens of enchanted candles, and the large fireplace to the right of the entrance, which also comes with Floo powder in order to communicate with people outside Hogwarts. On either side of the fire place are large bookshelves, containing several old tomes along with Slytherin's Memoirs and the NEWT Exam Study Book. The wall on the left of the entrance contains the silver placards of former Prince of Slytherins whilst the far wall is a tapestry of the Slytherin family tree. History During Salazar Slytherin's time at Hogwarts, he understood that although the greatest virtue the students in his house was Ambition, it was also their greatest vice. As such, he created the position of "Prince of Slytherin" as a way to help guide both his house and the wizarding world from the shadows. This room was built as a location from which future Princes could rule from, being hidden from view at the end of Prefect's Row and guarded by the Sentinel. Multiple Princes found and utilised this room in order to increase their own knowledge and skills, in order to become Princes. Upon being left a mysterious note and some searching into who the "Prince of Slytherin" was, Harry Potter discovered the room upon realising that Prefect's Row was the location in the clue he received from Egbert, one of the magical snakes hidden in Hogwarts. Although he met resistance from the Sentinel, he was soon granted access. Harry then used the resources located here in order to win the favour of the seventh year prefects and Marcus Flint, as well as binding Draco Malfoy to an Unbreakable Vow to prevent him from harming others in an attempt to get to Harry. Harry then started using this room as a base of operations when at Hogwarts in order to discuss sensitive information with his allies, such as the existence of the Deathly Hallows, the Nott-Wilkes Marriage Contract and the Azkaban Breakout. Enchantments Due to the nature of the Prince's Lair, the Lair has various enchantments in order to help with it's concealment. These include: The Sentinel Appearing as a crack on the wall at the end of Prefect's Row, the Sentinel ensure that only people with authorisation are granted entrance to the Prince's Lair. One of the oldest snakes in Hogwarts, he takes his job very seriously, denying those without access in a very blunt and straight forward manner. However, it is possible to gain access by proving your worth to him, such as when Harry listed his accomplishments despite his age. He can be communicated with through the use of Parseltongue but this may not grant immediate access to the Lair. Princes can also command him to allow people access to the Lair through the use of a password, which can be changed whenever the Prince-Emeritus, or Prince-Claimant should no Prince-Emeritus currently rule, desires. Secrecy Wards Should a Prince sit in the Hydra Throne, the secrecy wards inside the Lair will activate. These wards are designed to prevent the spread of any knowledge discussed within the Lair and are of a high quality. Informations discussed within the Lair whilst the wards are active cannot be revealed through use of Veritaserum or the Imperious Curse. Also, any attempts at Legilimency will result in the Legilimens merely seeing several gaps in the target's memory. These claims were proven true when Mr. X attempted to view Harry's memories for his Occlumency training. Notable Objects Inside the Prince's Lair are a number of objects and resources that are worthy of notice. Such objects include: Hydra Throne The most notable objects within the Lair is redoubtable the Hydra Throne, upon which the Prince of Slytherin rules. The Hydra Throne is the object which bestows worthy Slytherins with the title "Prince of Slytherin" and will kill anyone other than a Prince-Emeritus who dares sits upon it, unless granted permission. Should a Prince of Slytherin sit upon the throne, it will activate the Lair's enchantments, preventing any information discussed within the Lair from being discovered. The Prince can also talk to the Seven Examplars of Slytherin, the snakes which make up the Hydra Throne, in order to receive advice upon certain matters. List of Princes Upon one of the walls in the Lair is a collection of mounted silver placards which list every Prince of Slytherin who has acquired the title, along with the years in which the ruled. A full list of title holders can be seen by clicking above. Salazar Slytherin's Memoirs Hidden on the bookshelf within the Prince's Lair are the memoirs of the founder of Slytherin House, Salazar Slytherin. Divided into three volumes, the memoirs discuss the truth behind the Founder's time at Hogwarts, dismissing several facts about his history and personality. This includes: * His belief in Pure-blood superiority. This was proven to be false as he believed that since Muggle-born students would be so disadvantaged due to their upbringing (e.g. illiterate, highly superstitious and unhygienic), they should be taken from Muggle families and integrated into magical society before attending Hogwarts. This idea was shot down due to various ethical and political reasons. * The Fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Such a fight never occurred, with Salazar taking his family home to Spain due to his wife contracting Dragon Pox and remaining there for the remainder of his life. Slytherin Family Tree Upon the far wall from the entrance lies the Slytherin Family Tree. Similar to the Black Family Tree, the tree shows a complete family tree of every member of the Slytherin Family, down to modern times. As such, it is assumed to update automatically through magical means. NEWT Exam Study Book Upon the bookshelf inside the Lair sits this masterpiece. This book contains a self-updating record of every questions asked in every NEWT Exam over the last hundred years. Each question also contains notations to how often the question is asked and whether knowledge of certain spells or potions will confer bonus marks. Although the book itself doesn't contain the answers to every question, each question will contain a reference to where the answers can be found. As such, access to this book can be used to bribe NEWT-level Slytherin students into performing favours for the Prince. References